Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

PasturesNew

Madam has a poking stick. I set out to try to find a long/cheap/stick. It had to "at least look like it's about 1' taller than me" but I didn't know what/where I'd find it. I had a budget in mind of £1 though. Any long stick like thing would do. Ideal would have been a broom head on a long stick, but the stick length meant that's unlikely.

I figured if you can get a stick long enough .... then you've at least started and can at least poke about under there....

Then I found it .... a sort of small bankrupt stock shop up the road was my first port of call. The sort of shop that if you go in looking for something they've never got it .... but if you randomly wander in once a year (no more), then you might spot something vaguely handy or cheap.

They had planting canes - regular garden canes, in bunches. Some looked about the right length. So I looked - they were a bit thin really - and thin = easily snapped. But then I spotted a couple of the bunches had some quite wide canes! So I bought a bunch that contained a fatter cane. £2.25.

I used my poking stick and poked out 98% of anything that was under the shed. Discovered 3 balls and a lot of old/dry leaves blown there from when the garden used to be plagued with them everywhere 1' deep....

So, happy with that. Poking stick can stay outside. At some point I might find something to randomly tape to the fat end.... but at least I can poke A stick from one side to the other

I also bought some "bird scarer tape" and have cut 15" off and nailed it to the top of the shed apex as far as I could safely reach .... did I ever mention the birds/gulls had started landing and fighting on my shed roof and .... of course .... p155ing me off? I did also wonder if I should stick some near the ground ... if it might scare off furries, but I thought they'd probably eat it!

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

*sighs*
Hate Gardening.... hate things that run across gardens....

it could be worse - things running across gardens - it could be streaking builders! :eek:

Pyxis

ivyleaf wrote: »

OH says he'd always thought the windmills were meant to help deter birds when you'd just sewn your grass seed.

Pastures The plants with hairy leaves and stems and blue flowers sound like a weed called alkanet, which our garden is plagued with. The bright blue flowers are pretty, but it spreads easily and has very deep roots.

Or possibly Forget-me-nots? They self-seed like mad.



You could always get a Jack Russell; they'd see off a rat! Of course, then you'd have to walk it, inoculate it annually, feed it, pick up its poos, ward off irate neighbours when it barks continuously when you're out of the house......................:D

They are extremely good guard dogs, though!

PasturesNew

This bird tape's quite good! It's taken me by surprise/concern a few times as it flashes and twists and turns. I pinned it really at the bottom corner of the roof as I'm too small to reach higher... but it's catching the breeze a treat and flipping all over the place and whirling and curling... it's mesmerising.

So far not a single bird has landed on the shed.... but I've no way of knowing if one would've done. The only test that can be relied upon is if I actually see one land and ignore it....

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

This bird tape's quite good! It's taken me by surprise/concern a few times as it flashes and twists and turns. I pinned it really at the bottom corner of the roof as I'm too small to reach higher... but it's catching the breeze a treat and flipping all over the place and whirling and curling... it's mesmerising.

So far not a single bird has landed on the shed.... but I've no way of knowing if one would've done. The only test that can be relied upon is if I actually see one land and ignore it....

They might land on your house roof instead!


Or worse still, your car! :eek:


Train the rat to chase them away!



I trained my dog to rush out of the back door when I called 'pigeon!'

I encouraged small birds with feeders, but didn't want pigeons taking over!

She chased them away nicely! (I knew she'd never catch one, and she didn't, but it saved getting a scarecrow!:D)

zagubov

Pyxis wrote: »

Or possibly Forget-me-nots? They self-seed like mad.



You could always get a Jack Russell; they'd see off a rat! Of course, then you'd have to walk it, inoculate it annually, feed it, pick up its poos, ward off irate neighbours when it barks continuously when you're out of the house......................:D

They are extremely good guard dogs, though!

I've got a terrier. Useless against vermin. Warns us of postmen and cats and foxes. Actually caught a (injured) bird once (to our horror) but never caught a squirrel (except, probably, in his dreams).

PasturesNew

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I "twanged" my back when I picked up a tiny bag of compost (20 litres).... and it's still giving me gyp.

To stand up/walk, I have to actively think about what I'm doing and steady myself, then go slowly to stop the searing pain shooting through. When I am not moving at all it's just a numb ache.

Told you gardening wasn't my thing.....

I hope it just fixes itself soon.... so uncomfortable when you've "not got the sort of proper chair people'd say you should sit in" and randomly hurt yourself.

GDB2222

PasturesNew wrote: »

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I "twanged" my back when I picked up a tiny bag of compost (20 litres).... and it's still giving me gyp.

To stand up/walk, I have to actively think about what I'm doing and steady myself, then go slowly to stop the searing pain shooting through. When I am not moving at all it's just a numb ache.

Told you gardening wasn't my thing.....

I hope it just fixes itself soon.... so uncomfortable when you've "not got the sort of proper chair people'd say you should sit in" and randomly hurt yourself.

Horrible to get a bad back. Hopefully, this will get better soon. If the compost gets wet, even a small bag can weigh a lot.

I've had to rein myself in from mentioning all the things that have helped me in the past when I have had a bad back!

SingleSue

The concept is using sunscreen is not a strange one to my children, from the very first exposure to sun they have had sunscreen applied to them, I've lectured them, they have been told the dangers etc...so why then, did Josh completely ignore something that had become a routine, normal thing to do when going out in the sun and not wear any?

He has discovered to his own cost that wearing sunscreen is the better thing to do in the short term, as he has got badly burnt, I'm not going to dwell on the long term impact as it would drive me crazy.

Kids eh?

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I "twanged" my back when I picked up a tiny bag of compost (20 litres).... and it's still giving me gyp.

To stand up/walk, I have to actively think about what I'm doing and steady myself, then go slowly to stop the searing pain shooting through. When I am not moving at all it's just a numb ache.

Told you gardening wasn't my thing.....

I hope it just fixes itself soon.... so uncomfortable when you've "not got the sort of proper chair people'd say you should sit in" and randomly hurt yourself.

Assuming it's your lower back, the recommended* thing to do is treat it like a sprained ankle. Use ice packs regularly: a bag of frozen peas will do, wrapped in a tea-cloth and placed against the low back (tucked into your waist/pants) for 15 or so minutes, then repeat that as often as you like, with 15-20 min gaps in between. You might need two packs on the go, as they do need to be properly frozen each time. Remember the tea-towel, though.
A proper gel pack is best, but peas do in an 'emergency'.

There are other things you can do to help, too, but I'd have to PM you those. Tell me if you'd like me to.
In the meantime, no lifting or bending forward from the waist; get in the habit of bending the knees all the time, even for things like cleaning your teeth.


* I can provide the source of this info for anyone who wants it, by PM.



If, despite the ice-packing, it persists beyond a week or so, I really recommend a chiropractor, but there would be fees involved, obviously.